Ron Howard To Direct New Documentary On Beatles’ Touring Years

After getting clowned by Tyler, The Creator, learning about EDM from Skrillex and hanging out with Jay Z in the 2013 Made In America documentary, director Ron Howard is focusing on music again for an upcoming project.

Apple Records, White Horse Pictures and Howard’s Imagine Entertainment just announced a new authorized documentary for Apple, based on the first part of the Beatles’ career, before they retired from performing concerts. As with all Beatle-related projects from Apple, the film will be produced with the full cooperation of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison.

Howard said, “I am excited and honored to be working with Apple and the White Horse team on this astounding story of these four young men who stormed the world in 1964. Their impact on popular culture and the human experience cannot be exaggerated.”

This film will focus on the Beatles’ legendary early shows at the Cavern Club in Liverpool and their residencies in Hamburg to their last public concert at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park in 1966.

The Beatles began touring Europe in late 1963, but it was their much-celebrated appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” on February 9, 1964 that led to the Beatles’ popularity exploding, and “Beatlemania.” By June of that year, the band had gone on their first world tour; they would continue on a relentless schedule for two subsequent years. By the time the band stopped touring in August of 1966, they had performed 166 concerts in 15 countries and 90 cities worldwide.